Capacity Building It’S in Our DNA Capacity Building – It’S in Our DNA

Capacity Building It’s In Our DNA Capacity Building – It’s In Our DNA Capacity Building – It’s In Our DNA Promoting local bank staff, and training them for their new roles, has always been part of our DNA in the AccessGroup. From our early days, in markets as diverse as Azerbaijan and Mozambique, we have always prioritised internal promotion over external recruitment. In doing this, we have always believed in the power of training to bring talented local staff to the competence levels demanded by their new roles. Initially, this capacity building was conducted locally by each network financial in- stitution’s (NFI’s) learning and development function. However, we soon found that we needed a more formal, standardised approach to ensure quality and network- wide consistency. Consequently, in May 2014, we inaugurated AccessCampus, our learning centre in Berlin. ACCESSCAMPUS Despite its success in providing capacities, skills and self-confidence to our middle and upcoming AccessCampus is a dynamic, flexible learning senior managers across the network, we were and development programme, held in three faced with two challenges. Firstly, we saw that blocks of two weeks over 18 months, aimed at while we have been able to capacitate middle our network’s future leaders. Its curriculum is management, the NFIs also had real capacity adjusted regularly to reflect the changing needs building needs at lower levels. Secondly, this of our NFIs and market requirements. Its stand- also became evident in the declining qualifica- ardised approach means we can guarantee that tions of candidates for AccessCampus. future leaders in every bank receive the same high-quality training experience. With a blended As a result, in early 2017, we revised our ap- learning approach proach to human capacity building and resource AccessCampus allows us to that combines management. Building on the success of Access- eLearning through Campus, we decided to expand learning and de- capacitate and develop our talent our learning man- velopment activities to target almost all levels agement system of staff. This involved a shift from middle man- (LMS), AccessMind, and classroom training in the agement training exclusively delivered in Ac- Berlin campus, AccessCampus allows us to ca- cessCampus to entry level management training pacitate and develop our talent. delivered on a broad scale inside the NFIs them- selves via a new programme, AccessFoundation. As of September 2019, 54 middle managers from This also has the advantage of better preparing our NFIs have graduated, with many more cur- top performers for AccessCampus by ensuring a rently on their journey through the programme. more homogenous level of knowledge among This means that AccessCampus helps ensure candidates. Moreover, the new holistic approach that there is a pool of internal, local talent ready is tied to an overall concept that tackles human to take the next step in their careers and assume resource management based on a model of com- the greater authority and responsibilities that petencies that each employee needs to demon- come with promotion. strate. 2 Capacity Building – It’s In Our DNA ACCESSFOUNDATION ACCESSMIND AccessFoundation targets the almost 600 mid- AccessMind is the AccessGroup’s LMS, our plat- dle and upcoming middle managers of our six form for delivering eLearning to employees in African NFIs. Skills development (in both techni- eight countries. To date, 5,194 employees have cal and non-technical subjects) is conducted on been registered as participants. Those partici- a foundational level, ensuring increased stand- pants have, in turn, been given access to 11,460 ardisation across the network, thereby allowing customised eLearning components. The aver- for better exchange opportunities of local level age completion rate is currently 76%, meaning employees. It also prepares high potential can- that, at any one time, didates for further competency and proficiency three out of every four training to assume additional responsibilities. released eLearning AccessMind eLearning also Participants benefit from our blended learning components has al- allows us to target and reach approach and a custom-designed standardised ready been finished by training package developed by Head Office -ex participants. huge numbers of employees perts in learning and development. Local train- ers are trained on the curriculum subjects and AccessMind went live in Rwanda and Zambia in on how to use this package (which consists of 2017. Liberia, Georgia and Nigeria followed in an eLearning component, classroom facilitator 2018, with Tanzania joining in 2019. Madagascar guide, PowerPoint presentation, and learner is currently in the process of rolling out the LMS workbook). Equipped with the materials and this to all branches. knowledge, they then return to their NFIs and conduct the training locally. AccessMind allows us to provide a fully blended learning solution (a mix of classroom and on- By defining job-specific competency profiles, line learning) to participants of AccessFounda- the AccessGroup will have a multifunctional tion and AccessCampus. This means that we can tool which can be used when designing and ensure the classroom component of these pro- developing training interventions, specifically grammes is free to concentrate on value-added targeted at competency gaps. We can use these activity-based interventions, rather than on con- competency profiles to effectively recruit, select, textual or background content that is best pre- train and appraise our employees. This targeted sented online. AccessMind eLearning also allows approach to people development creates a mo- us to target and reach huge numbers of employ- tivated and capacitated workforce, a workforce ees (who we could never hope to reach in the who knows how to perform in their jobs and classroom) with bespoke compliance training what is required to grow in their careers. tailored specifically to the AccessGroup experience. This helps us to capacitate employees at all levels and in all locations, increasing partici- pation, engagement, and content relevance. 3 Capacity Building – It’s In Our DNA THE ACCESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME At AccessGroup, we believe that intense human AccessCampus is the next step up, aimed at mid- capacity building and resource management will dle management and future leaders, and covers improve management of our institutions and subjects such as change management, leader- prepare our staff for upcoming challenges, espe- ship, financial modelling and people manage- cially in times of complex, potentially disruptive ment while also providing advanced training in changes. To achieve this, we build on a compe- many of the subjects treated in the earlier levels tency-based HR approach, which takes a holistic of the Access Development Programme. approach to people development: the Access De- velopment Programme. This programme focuses Finally, the Executive Leadership Programme, not just on the tasks and outputs of a role but proposed for 2020, will be aimed at senior man- also on what behaviours need to be demonstrat- agement in the AccessGroup. ed when completing tasks. Capacity building plays a crucial role as it helps The Access Development Programme has five us go beyond realising organisational chang- levels, beginning with Onboarding. All staff join- es that are directly related to technical inno- ing our NFIs are enrolled in this level and are vations. It is essential that the institutions go provided with induction training that supports even further and realise an overall shift in cor- them at the start of their journey through the or- porate culture, putting the client at the centre ganisation. Subjects covered at this level include in all regards. Client centricity then becomes a information security, money laundering preven- cross-cutting philosophy within the institutions. tion, and our environmental and social manage- This in turn will contribute to outreach and prof- ment policy (ESMS). itability. Therefore, Capacity Building forms a key component of the Access2Access Programme The next level of the Programme is Core Compe- (A2A) and is supported by Mastercard Founda- tence. This is aimed at branch staff and capac- tion as part of the Partnership Programme with itates them on subjects like financial analysis, AccessHolding. customer service, sales, and risk management. AccessFoundation is the next level and is aimed The Access Development at entry-level managers. It covers subjects such Programme has 5 levels: as project management, digital finance, coaching » Onboarding skills, time management, and negotiation skills. » Core Competence » AccessFoundation 5 » Access Campus » Executive Leadership Programme 4 Capacity Building – It’s In Our DNA EVALUATING OUR PROGRESS To establish a robust framework for measuring the effectiveness of learning and the transfer- ence of skills to the workplace we have adopt- Over the next few pages, you can see what some ed the Kirkpatrick evaluation model, one of the participants of our programmes view our capacity- most common ways that learning and develop- building interventions. ment (L&D) professionals measure the effectiveness of capacity development. We measure on four levels of the model: Reaction, Learning, Behaviour, and Results. „ The Kirkpatrick model takes account of learners’ reaction to training and alignment to the learn- Promoting local bank ing objectives established within the course curriculum. The model also looks at the learner’s perspective

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